My sister is a C6 incomplete with a really big problem.

All her life she was heavy and emotional eating is her happiness, but now that shes in a chair it is becomming more of a concern since my mom and I are her caregivers and the day to day routines and just getting harder and harder to complete.

She is about 260 pounds of dead weight and increasing, and if anyone knows any kind of information that will help in her losing some weight it would be much appreciated. She is new to the chair of only being in the accident in may of this year and also suffers from MS.

We are sort of lost on how you convince an "adult " who wont eat broccoli or pass on the dessert that was included in the hospital meals to eat more of the healthy foods for her sake as well as ours who have to care for her.

She has the use of her arms and hands, and has regained feeling in her legs, but is yet to begin her rehabilitation program yet.

Pleez if there is some wise information that you know about send it our way!!!!

tough love? quit helping her lift so much, and the more she has to do, possibly she'll realize how unhealthy and heavy all that extra poundage is to lift.

I am c5/ c6 incomplete functioning at a c6 level and I was started on a physical therapy program about a week after I got out of the hospital..the rehab therapist at the hospital helped with my recovery a great deal..I pushed myself and refused to accept that I was going to be stuck in this chair permanently..I find myself slowing down some now that it has gotten cold and I have had some medical issues that I have had to deal with but I refuse to be waited on hand and foot..I have gained about 40lbs since my injury but that is due to not being nearly as active..

don't wait on your sister as much, make her get up and move around get her interested in hobbies and crafts that may help..

good luck with your sis..

Cariel, if there is ever a time for your family to invest in something really good for the health of your sister, then buy the Dr. Gillian McKeith books, "You are what you Eat" and Ültimate Health Plan". I am sure you can persuade her with the info in these 2 books plus what she has suggested on this forum as a general overview of a diet plan for us. The next thing is to convince her to do rehab exercise. The battle might be tough in the beginning, but I agree with other threads here, tough love. My weight gain has not so much been over-eating but wrong eating. Plus the fact we are not so mobile as AB people. It is very easy for us to be lazy and expect people to do things for us. Very dangerous, and I have to watch myself time and time again. Tough love is what sorts me out. My husband works all day and is often tired on coming home and at weekends, so seeing all the fetching and carrying and lifting through his eyes wakes me up every time. I don't get washed by him or caregiver anymore. All they have to do is top and tail wash and back, legs. I wash my own hair now, difficult, but force myself to do it. My hands are sort of monkey-clawed but can stretch fingers every now and then. I do dishes now, which is something I never dared, but tried and it works well. I also do a lot of wheelchair mobility. Just wheeling for +- 30-45 minutes a day. I am re-starting an exercise programme in the New Year, as this year hampered by bowel routine and torn ligaments in right ankle.

She is a sitting time bomb if she carries on in this fashion, she will die of heart complications or other organ failures. Also try getting her to a psychologist/psychiatrist. All these might help her spur herself on. It sounds like she is just giving up, and ?possibly very depressed.

Hope this helps you. Let us know of her progress.

Cariel-

Your family does indeed have a problem. If you can get some family counseling, I would strongly suggest it. It is likely that your sister is clinically depressed. From a practical standpoint, there are devices such as a Hoyer lift to do transfers that can be very helpful. If you can, get her a hospital bed. Social services and insurance will usually help with this. Utilize a draw sheet to pull her into position in bed. If she needs to be pulled up in bed, elevate the foot of the bed all the way, and let gravity assist you and pull her up with the draw sheet as you stand at the head of the bed. Your sister can hook her arm thru the rails and pull to assist with turning. Make sure the hospital bed has a style of rail that she can hook her arm through. Have a PT, OT or rehab nurse help you learn body mechanics and techniques to make things safer and easier. They can also realistically evaluate how much she is able to do herself. If you possibly can, get help from a home health agency or private caregiver to do bathing and other difficult tasks. Your family Dr. is a good place to start for help/info. He must prescribe equipment and home health care to get payment by insurance, Medicaid/Medicare, etc.

I want to say this in a gentle way. I can imagine your frustration. However, certain language you use is troubling, such as "dead weight" and "adult", which conveys disrespect and condescension. This will not help anyone involved. Compassion and patience, together with seeking outside help, could go a long way toward relieving everyone's stress. Your family could explore pleasurable activities, hobbies, games etc. that your sister could enjoy other than eating. Does she have a social life? Friends, extended family, church or support groups might help.

Finally, food. I struggle to control my weight because I can move very little. I avoid white flour, sugar, junk and processed food. I focus on what I need to eat for health rather on what not to eat. I eat raw foods such as good salads daily, and try to eat foods that have high nutrient value for the calories involved. A dietician can help you. Diets are negative, whereas eating in a healthy self-respecting manner cultivates self-esteem. She may never get thin because of inactivity. Just avoiding further weight gain may be more realistic. Who buys and prepares the food? What kinds of food are around the house? Your whole family is responsible for that. Everyone can benefit from healthy eating.

Finally, some people benefit from Weight Watchers. Overeaters Anonymous is another excellent group. They treat food addiction problems as a disease of mind/body/spirit, and utilize fellowship and the 12 Steps as a solution that goes very deep. Look in your phone book, or see if your local AA can help you find info on meetings. You can look online if you can't locate them in your community. Literature and online meetings can be accessed, as well.

I wish you health and happiness! We all deserve that!

Doublelibra

I agree 100% with what Doublelibra had just posted.

Super morbid obesity caused by emotional eating and the like are now a diagnosed and recognized a medical disorder. In my opinion, your sister would benefit from seeing a counselor or a doctor.

Of course, her depression won't just vanish if the source of the depression is still present (ie. being confined in a chair). But with my own experience with depression and slowly overcoming it with anti-depression pills have taught me to deal with my depression in different and positive ways.

But as doublelibra mentions, the entire family should change eating habits to help your sister lose weight. It truly isn't fair if all of you are eating all you can eat bbq while she is stuck eating rabbit food.

I'm actually on a journey to lose weight myself. I'll keep you posted on how my weight loss is going and perhaps your sister can join in.

Best of luck to you.

Your are hearing from the Queen Of Emotional Eating now! I eat when I'm happy. I eat when I'm depressed. I eat to celebrate. I eat for entertainment. I eat for every reason except the fact that I'm hungry because I'm rarely really hungry and NEVER full. Food has always been my drug of choice. I can totally anesthetize myself with a gallon of Oreo Cookie ice cream and a spoon. I mentioned in another thread that I actually get a physical calming effect when I put something with the combination of sweet and fatty in my mouth, for instance chocolate chip cookies or corn pudding for that matter. Like sugary jelly beans just wouldn't do it for me. I am nervous sometimes wanting a fix of something and if I give in and indulge it stops the "screaming" inside of me for something. But then I pay the price and a doctor told me once that sugar has the same basic effect on your nervous system as alcohol and in huge quantities it is a depresssant.

It has nothing EVER to do with being hungry and my body doesn't recognize the sensation of what it is to be full. You would never hear "I'm stuffed and can't eat another bite" come out of my mouth. If it tastes good to me I can just eat until I'm sick, literally.

I am 57 years old, 5'1" and I have been as high as 306 lbs. and as little as 105 in my adult life. I have lost at various times 163 lbs., 140 lbs. 65 lbs and hundreds of lbs. in 30's and 40's increments over and over again. In the last year I have lost just about 100 lbs. I was up to about 280 from about 180 after becoming paralyzed March of '04.

Along with the lack of exercise and stuffing my feelings down with food I had ballooned yet again. I couldn't breathe just trying to transfer and needless to say my poor caregiver was struggling with me. So, I totally understand how your sister feels.


My thread Spinal Cord Injury Dieting and Weight Loss will tell you what I've done about it [url=http://www.apparelyzed.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=4221] (it's just below this one right now) and Simon also added some beneficial information.

I love to cook and bake the stuff that I love to eat but I tell my family to put it where my reacher can't access it for me and if I ask just tell me no. If I'm going to act like a child they need to treat me like a child because they love me.

A year has come and gone since I decided that I'd rather live than eat and so has 100 lbs. and I feel so much better both physically and mentally. I do more chores around the house, laundry, dishes, vacuuming, dusting, moping the floor instead of leaving it to someone else to do while I sat because I didn't have the energy to do anything except eat. (FYI...QVC has a wonderful microfiber mop that can be used with just a spritz bottle of water)

I live on a basic Weight Wathers food program. I don't go to meetings and I didn't pay for it. Two very nice ladies from Freecycle sent the basic information to me and in going by the points I've learned to eat a lot of what I can and MOST of what I want in the quantities that I can. I can still have a serving of ice cream just not the entire gallon! However when it comes to the sugary-fatty stuff, I'm better off to abstain because it doesn't satisfy me. It only makes me want more, kind of like an alcoholic or drug addict.

At 56 years old last year I'd never eaten a tomato in my life but I was determined when friends started bringing us fresh garden tomatoes that I was going to eat them and now I can't wait for summer and fresh tomatoes. O points...you can eat all that you want. And, sweet watermelon...come on summer!

I will be happy to share my WW information with anyone who might want to try it. It's just the way that I live now. When my family eats pizza, I eat pizza, but I know how to plan my day for it and how much of it I can eat when I do. I'm the one who does the cooking and I fix whatever my family wants because I cook for my 87 year old mom, my daughter and my extended family daughter/caregiver and when I don't eat what they are eating I just do my own thing.

I keep measured portions of cooked meat in the freezer like roast beef and roasted chicken. I eat a baked potato nearly everyday because I LOVE potatoes. I don't love asparagus but I eat it occasionally grilled with a little Olive Oil drizzled over it with some slivered almonds. I do eat a lot of what I have learned to like and that is broccoli, green beans, cauliflower, tomatoes and lettuce. Just can't go brussle sprouts though. So, while they might want biscuits and gravy on a cold snowy night, although I love that, I will fix up my own supper with stuff that I have ready, or a can of 0 points soup loaded up with some extra veggies and a serving of meat.

There's no magic bullet or pill. It's just accountability and common sense eating. You take in less calories than you burn and you will lose weight regardless of the fact that we can't walk the treadmill or do aerobics.